Student Dead at Crash Scene Was Murdered
Cops Say Young Woman Found Dead Monday Along River Embankment Was Asphyxiated
Yarmolenko's car was found at water's edge on a steep embankment behind a local YMCA and housing development project. Whoever was behind the wheel — whether it was Yarmolenko or her attacker — had to drive down a dirt road to get to the spot where the Saturn was ultimately located.
A tree stump apparently kept the car from plunging into the water. It's unclear how fast the car was moving when it struck the stump, though images from the scene show minimal body damage to the Saturn.
The car was not running, Belk confirmed. The keys were recovered at the scene, but were not in the ignition.
The public safety department at UNC is assisting Mount Holly police in the investigation. A student advisory was issued Thursday by the school asking students to come forward with any relevant information that could help police.
Though Belk would not say whether or not authorities believed Yarmolenko knew her killer, he did say they are following up on several leads and cautioned students on the UNC campus not to panic.
"There's nothing to indicate that there is someone out there that's stalking or anything like that," Belk said at the news conference.
Belk said that Yarmolenko has had romantic relationships in the past, but that "at this point, they don't seem relevant." Some items were collected from the Saturn as possible evidence, but Belk added that so far investigators had found nothing specific suggesting robbery was the motive.
A candlelight vigil was held Thursday night for the slain student on campus. Yarmolenko's brother, 25-year-old Pavel Yarmolenko, described his sister as "incredible" in an interview with the Charlotte Observer. "There's nothing bad about her," he said. "Everything that she's ever done was to help people."
Yarmolenko reportedly was born in the Ukraine but grew up in Chapel Hill, N.C., after her parents moved from the country in the 1990s as refugees. Her parents, both scientists, found work in North Carolina, and Yarmolenko graduated from Chapel Hill High School in 2006.
Yarmolenko had written for the Niner Online, the online campus newspaper at UNC-Charlotte, and taken pictures for the University Times. The publications described Yarmolenko as "a Daily Show addict and a fan of the Counting Crows" who injected her "love of life" and excitement into the newsroom.
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